The Unexpected Condiment That Adds Loads Of Flavor To Ice Cream

If you're buying high-quality ice cream from the grocery store, it should already be full of rich flavor. But who can resist the allure of adding fun toppings to elevate it? Sweet additions like fudge sauce or caramel are perfectly acceptable traditional options, but recently, savory choices like drizzling olive oil and adding a pinch of sea salt to the frosty dessert have gained popularity. If you really want to level up your bowl of creamy frozen goodness, look no further than the leader of the "swicy" trend: hot honey.

The portmanteau "swicy" refers to foods that are both sweet and spicy, and hot honey is the epitome of it. While you may have been drizzling it on grilled cheese, pizza, wings, or other savory foods, you might be missing out if you haven't tried upgrading sweets like ice cream with it. A simple condiment, hot honey marries chile peppers and honey for an explosion of sweetness and heat that can take ice cream to a whole new level. The reason this combination works so well is thanks to the sugar in the honey and the fat in the ice cream, which mingle beautifully with the heat of the peppers for layers of balanced flavors that are neither too sweet nor too hot.

If you're looking to kick up your next bowl of ice cream with some hot honey, there are plenty of options to choose from. Mike's Hot Honey is a popular choice, but there are numerous other brands with various heat levels — from Bees Knees, which uses oleoresin habanero peppers, to Local Hive, which blends Sriracha with honey. Just drizzle your favorite variety on top, and dig in.

You can also embrace swiciness without honey, and let the ice cream carry the sweetness on its own. Go Maryland-style and top your next bowl of vanilla soft serve with a sprinkle of Old Bay, or add zesty spice to your ice cream with Tajín. Alternatively, simply shake on cayenne pepper, or drizzle on some hot sauce or Sriracha. Finally, you can follow in the footsteps of New Mexicans and spice up your ice cream cup or cone with a topping of green chiles.